A discussion about creating a science discovery center along the Tuckasegee River will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 12, at the Fairfield Inn and Suites across from Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. This brainstorming meeting is open…

They might look abandoned and waiflike, but the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is urging folks to not approach, touch, feed or move them. Whitetails are a “hider” species, which means the female will hide her fawn in vegetation during the…

This past Saturday, May 7, was (I believe) the 12th-annual “Birding for the Arts” fundraiser for the Haywood County Arts Council. I can’t remember exactly how many Saturdays we’ve done it, but I do know it’s become one of my…

You’ve got to be just a little bit crazy, maybe, to do this trail race — crazy for an epic trail-running experience, that is. The Smoky Mountain Relay, taking place this Friday and Saturday (May 13-14), is more than 200…

There will be a free lecture on “running medicine” Tuesday, May 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30. p.m. at the Jackson County Recreation Center in Cullowhee. Topics include running gait and technique, barefoot running and minimalist shoes and running after…

Jackson County residents who love the public library are called to join Book Brigade Buddies and help move the last of the library books up the hill to the new facility. At 10:45 a.m. on Saturday, May 21, residents are…

So ends Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast, his memoir of his years as a young writer in Paris. This book contains the best of Hemingway: his prose style, crisp and clear as a glass of fine chardonnay; his reporter’s eye…

To the Editor: Regarding the monument to the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority, these two headlines are just too much to take on the same page of the April 27 eidtion of The Smoky Mountain News: • “Folkmoot Funding Gets…

To the editor: With the recent rapid rise in gas prices, the hype about nuclear as an alternative source of energy has resumed — if it ever let up. Notwithstanding the Fukushima disaster and the consequent spread of dangerous radioactive…

To the editor: Oh yeah, then there are the children. How many bureaucrats does it take to educate a child? It must take more than seems to make sense. In Raleigh, we have 800 that are on the payroll of…

Some years ago, confined to an office through work obligations but dreaming of farming, I spent more time than I should have surfing the Internet in search of agriculture and back-to-the-land related sites. Amazingly, many of the same ones I…

For both teachers in the classroom and local administrators, this is shaping up to be the most challenging budget year in North Carolina history. At times like these, those of us who value a quality education system will be left…

The Haywood County Veterans Office and the Haywood County Veterans Council are calling for veterans to participate in the Memorial Day Parade, scheduled for 1 p.m. on Monday May 30th, in Canton. The parade will feature several National Guard and…

A Citizen’s Constitutional Workshop will be held in Franklin Friday, May 20, at The Fun Factory on U.S. 441 South. Experts from the John Locke Foundation and N.C. History Project will be at the event, which lasts from 1 p.m.…

Duke Energy has received a new 30-year permit to operate its five hydroelectric dams in Jackson County, which could pave the way for new economic and recreational opportunities along the Tuckasegee River. Kayaking for several days a year on the…

A proposal to set up a special track for Western Carolina University’s crème de la crème — the honor students on campus — failed recently to win approval of a majority of the faculty’s leaders. The thumbs down by the…

Cecil Bothwell, who announced his congressional bid in March, will not run as an Independent but instead run in the 2012 Democratic primary. “I’ve heard from hundreds of people, from Western North Carolina to Washington, D.C., who believe the most…

Donate food to the Manna Food Bank Summer Sack program from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on May 12 and help feed Haywood County children this summer. Collections, organized by Keller Williams, will be taken in Waynesville at K-Mart and…

Developers in Waynesville rejoice: your customers may now park in front of your buildings. Sometimes. In some places. The new rules, passed after nearly two years of deliberation, will allow limited parking in the front of businesses for high-traffic commercial…

Under the newly verdant trees shading the lawn of the historic Haywood County Courthouse, 29 people silently lined the sidewalk last Friday, sending the message that they were “struck speechless” by slashed state funding proposed by House Republicans. Their signs…

Americans love pad thai. This one fact, Nonglak Pafuang is sure of. After moving to the U.S. from Thailand five years ago, she’s learned that the varied cuisines of her homeland are popular stateside, but none more than pad thai,…

The pending merger of Angel Medical Center with Mission Health System could be sidelined, at least temporarily, by a state bill aimed at limiting Mission’s influence in the region. Sen. Jim Davis, R-Franklin, said he introduced the bill to offer…

A state bill aimed at ensuring a balance of power between Mission Health System and smaller hospitals has placed lawmakers in the middle of a healthcare turf war. As Mission steps up efforts to acquire smaller hospitals and doctors’ practices…

The future of the Downtown Sylva Association remains unclear despite a move by town leaders to increase public funding for the group. The town board unanimously voted last week to increase funding from $12,000 to $15,000 a year, but that…

The July 7 primary is drawing closer in Cherokee, when the field for principal chief will narrow from five to two. Current Principal Chief Michell Hicks is making a play for his third four-year term. He’ll again be facing his…

For a taste of fun and history, visit The Blackberry Jam from 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, at the Macon County Fair Grounds. The Macon County Historical Society has lined up a variety of events to commemorate the 150th…

This year’s Dancing With the Mountain Stars event is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 20, at the Laurel Ridge Country Club to benefit REACH of Haywood County. Local celebrities will be paired with professional dancers…

Southern Gospel group Archie Watkins & Smoky Mountain Reunion will play two shows at 6 and 8 p.m. on May 21 at the Colonial Theater in Canton. The concerts will benefit Arc of Haywood County, a non-profit organization dedicated to…

The Town of Dillsboro is seeking vendor applications for the upcoming Arts and Music festival, which will take place the second Saturday in June. Applications can be found at visitdillsboro.org. Entertainers and musicians are also needed to play on Saturday…

Have fun while staying active this summer through a ballroom dance class, held from 6:30 until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday evenings, May 24 through June 28, at Western Carolina University. Students will learn several ballroom dance styles, including the waltz,…

Elementary school-aged children and their families are invited to a free ARTSaturday workshop from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, in the Macon County Public Library children’s wing. Activities include make-and-take percussion instruments, harmony and round singing,…

Pianist Thomas Uchtmann will perform a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 21 at the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville to benefit the Haywood County Arts Council. A reception will be held after the concert. Uchtmann will perform a…

Local writers can hone their skills with summer workshops in poetry and prose at UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Programs. Classes are open to all interested writers but class size is limited. Poet Jeff Davis will lead Getting the Muse…

Former Cullowhee resident Marly Youmans, novelist, short-story writer and poet, will return to Sylva at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, to read from her new poetry collection, The Throne of Psyche, at City Lights bookstore. Youmans is a prolific…

Get started on Christmas gift-giving early by attending a Christmas napkin-making workshop from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 19, at the Community Service Center in Sylva. The workshop is hosted by the Jackson County Extension and Community Association…

“This song was written before the USDA got their hands on organic standards,” announces the booming voice from the stage. It’s a Friday night in late April and the attention of the crowd at Sylva’s Soul Infusion Bistro is centered…

The Jackson County Board of Education is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Michael L. Murray as the new Superintendent of Jackson County Schools. The Board voted unanimously to offer the position to Dr. Murray who will begin work…

Have you ever seen a mountain lion here in the Smokies region? I haven’t. In fact, the only one I’ve ever viewed outside of a zoo was somewhere near Crystal River, Fla., back in the early 1990s. It bounded out…

A conservation agreement with landowners has preserved 13 acres in the Bethel community of Haywood County. The property is largely agricultural land, providing corn, hay and a critical calving unit for a larger cow-calf operation. The land will remain in…

Until May 23, walkers and runners at Lake Junaluska won’t be able to make their usual circuit. The Turbeville Footbridge, which spans the lake and completes the loop, will be closed for renovations. No foot traffic will be able to…

The annual Ruby Ride & Run will be held Saturday, May 21, in Franklin. There will be a 5K and 10K run and three bike rides of varying lengths: 24 miles, 64 miles and 100 miles. Last year, 75 bicyclists and…

Two free fishing clinics for ages 6 to 15 will be offered at the 21st Annual Great Smoky Mountain Trout Festival on Saturday, May 7, at the Maggie Valley Festival Grounds. The clinics are sponsored by the Haywood Community College…

A hike and campout at Tusquitee Bald, the highest point in Clay County, will be held Friday, May 6, by the WNC Alliance, a regional conservation group. A carpool leaves Asheville at 5 p.m. on Friday. Hiking takes place Saturday…

I spoke with Blair Ogburn, senior naturalist at Balsam Mountain Trust, the other day and she related a perplexing incident. She said she was leading a group on a nature hike when she heard a blue-winged warbler. Now, blue-winged warblers…

A Songbird Celebration will be held at the Cradle of Forestry in America Saturday, May 7, to honor the annual migratory bird influx. At 8 a.m., the cradle will offer a guided walk to learn and practice identifying birds by…

In a combination celebration of migratory birds and Balsam Mountain Trust’s 10 year anniversary, hikes and classes are scheduled at the preserve 115 bird species call home from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 14. Events include a beginner’s…

The U.S. Forest Service is warning hikers to stay back a good 50 feet or so from a towering poplar tree in Macon County that is now rotting and falling apart. The Wasilik Poplar is the second-largest tree of its…

Jacquelyn Frank, a the New York Times best selling author, will speak at the Mountain Writers meeting at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, May 10, at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville. A paranormal romance writer, she’ll talk about building worlds — creating…

Even with the old library closing, Jackson County kids can’t get out of their parents enrolling them in Jackson County’s annual summer reading program. This year it is “One World, Many Stories,” in which children will explore places from Oceania…

Storytellers draw inspiration from sources as varied as Shakespeare, the Brothers Grimm and the Bible; however, the tales that immediately produce a resonating chord in most hearts are the ones that are drawn from a storyteller’s own life. If the…